June 2021    Great Smoky Mountains National Park

May I introduce Moby (as in great white whale)?   I won't go into all

the details, but we were fortunate enough to find a replacement Nissan 

van for the one we had to leave behind in Alabama in April.  Same model year, 

different color, lower mileage.   These NV 3500 vans are scarcer than

hens' teeth so we are thrilled that we were able to find one in Houston.

We began planning a trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park a few 

months ago with our son's family.  With Moby in our driveway, we 

took out the 10 passesnger seats and stored them in the garage along

with the other 10 from the previous van) and reconfigured it into camping

mode.   Everything fit perfectly.   I made more screens to supplement the one

we already had for the sliding side door.

Our son, Mark, managed to cobble together 10 consecutive vacation days

from his two jobs.  He loaded camping gear and his family into their Honda 

Odyssey and we caravaned our way to the North Carolina side of Great Smoky

Mountains National Park following most of the route Brian and I took two months

ago.   We had reservations at Smokemont Campground for five days with a huge

park to explore.

Ready to go before sunrise!

While the grownups set up the tent, the kids had fun throwing stones in the creek that flows through the campgound.

We had two campsites close together.

Uno on a rainy afternoon

Talking to a NPS ranger about his job

Araceli holding a flower from a tulip tree toward the camera so it looks larger than it really is.

Then off to the closest visitor center to obtain Junior Ranger activity booklets and purchase national parks passport books for each grandchild.  We visited some old farm buildings at the Mountain Farm Museum where Mark explained outhouses and the use of corncobs to his children (he is the son of two teachers, after all).  We stopped at the old Mingus Gristmill, too.  

Mark explained the use of the outhouse and corncobs in the "olden days."

After two attempts to climb to the Observation Tower on Clingman's Dome, the highest mountain in the park, we made it up there on a clear, sunny morning just as the crowds began to intensify.  GSMNP is the most visited national park in the U.S. and gets about 12 million visitors per year.  Even though we were there in the first week of June, parking areas as some of the trailheads over the weekend were overwhelmed and we were not able to hike some of the trails as planned.  

On the way up to Clingman's Dome

Brian took this photo from the base of the Observation Tower.

AT crossing just below Clingman's Dome

The kids embarked on a family-friendly river raft trip one morning while us old folks drove into a nearby town to take advantage of our Silver Sneakers membership for the first time to shower at a fitness center.

We made a short hike up to Mingo Falls just outside the park boundary.  180 feet tall

Seen while in the town of Cherokee for ice cream:

We made the long drive to the Tennessee side of the park to Cades Cove and spotted a few black bears.

We had to give up on the plan to hike to Laurel Falls because no parking in the lot or along the road was available.  

On the fourth night, it rained to hard that Mark's tent leaked and all the sleeping bags got wet.  Laundromat time to dry everything out helped, but more rain in the forecast so we decided to vacate our campsite a day early and continue north to our next destination (Johnstown, PA).  Before we left the park, the grandkids sought out a park ranger to turn in junior ranger booklets and get their badges.

On the way to Pennsylvania while driving through West Virginia, we made a short stop at New River Gorge National Park.  (previously designated as a National River, but recently upgraded to our newest National Park)    A short hike out to the bridge overlook and some photos were all we had time for.   U.S. Highway 19 crosses the gorge on the bridge 876 feet above the river.  We have great memories from 1996 when our family went on a river raft trip on the New River.

We gave Brian's mother just two days notice that we were going to make it to Johnstown again after just visiting two months ago.  This time Mark and family were following us and their visit was planned to be a total surprise.  We arrived at her retirement community and they walked in unannounced.  

We did most of our visiting on the covered portico - easier than signing in, temperature check, presenting vaccination card, etc.  She is allowed only two visitors at a time in her room.

We can't visit Johnstown without eating messy gobs . . .

Araceli loved Aunt Bonnie's garden

A lovely evening to visit the cemetery and get a photo of four generations

Uncle Roger demonstrated his flying skills with one of his RC airplanes.

After a whirlwind visit, Mark and gang had to leave and we stayed on another day.  We took Brian's mother out for a drive along a portion of the Lincoln Highway.  We made a quick stop at the Flight 93 Memorial to see the Tower of Voices that has been built since our last visit there.  Unfortunately, the chimes are not working out as planned, but it was an impressive structure.  

We stopped at an old Log Church  and encountered the infamous Brood X cicadas.  One landed on my hand and we got a good photo before it flew away.  I have read about how loud they are and it is true. 

I usually put a "Seen while geocaching" gallery here, but we have not done much geocaching these past 9 days.  We leave tomorrow and will continue to travel for the next 3 or 4 weeks, so stay tuned.